They say a person's schooling relies on what happens both inside and outside the classroom. Parents begin educating their children before formal schooling even starts, teaching them how to walk, talk, and tie their shoes. They teach their children right from wrong and how to work through challenges. Experts state that the biggest reason that students fail to succeed or graduate is because they receive little support from home. While it is heartbreaking that some children are not being encouraged academically by their parents, I can happily say that for me, this is not the case. My parents, both college graduates who realized the importance of success in school, made huge contributions to my education and cultivated my intelligence and prosperity from the very beginning.
Each day after school from kindergarten straight through to senior year, I would settle at the table with my stay-at-home mother,unload my backpack, and review every class of the day. Each afternoon held a recap of each subject, including what I did in class, what grades I received back from the teacher, how I thought my test went, who I sat next to, and lastly what I had for homework. The motto was work first play later. Although this may seem harsh on a child, in retrospect, it instilled priority from an early age. I learned quickly, under the direction of my parents, that school always came first. Therefore, if I wanted to have fun with the other neighborhood kids or go out on the weekends, I would have to power through the worksheets, readings, and essays before I could step foot outside the door. However, not only did the work get done under their watchful eye, but it was done correctly. My mother would always check my answers, point out the ones that were incorrect, and have me try them again, and again, and again. There was no assignment that left the house short of perfection.
As I grew older, however, and the material became more complex and extensive, it was harder for her to monitor my every worksheet and assignment, so she focused her support on something she would soon become an expert at, proofreading essays. She and I would comb through my papers extensively, analyzing every letter, comma, and semicolon. We would analyze how the sentences flowed to make one coherent idea and tear apart any work or clause that stood in the way of my concept. No argument went unproven and no assertion went unsupported. There would be arguments, and in the end I would hold an essay edited and re-edited so many times I was sick of it. However, no grade came back less than an A and I was commended on my superiorly crafted writing, being dubbed one of the top five writers in the grade by the senior AP/Honors English teacher. Furthermore, I came to be known as a person that my classmates wanted to proof read their papers. In the case of my friend Elena, I was a person that could make a college essay 250 words less than its original length, while also making it more succinct and appealing to the reader. While my basis for writing was taught formally by certified teachers, my high-quality editing skills were not taught by any professional, but by my own mother.
As previously mentioned, my parents stressed school above all else, including my hobby since age two, dance. If I wanted to excel in school, as well as continue dancing competitively, I would have to learn to manage both and ensure my success in school at the same time. This often meant doing nothing during the week but studying and dancing, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Four days a week for about eight years, I would spend the half hour car rides to the studio with my nose buried in a text book or answering questions messily in a notebook. When it came time to drive myself to dance, I was clueless on how to arrive there since I had rarely ever seen the road beyond my pile of text books. Furthermore, if there was any spare moment in rehearsal or at a competition when I was not performing or practicing, my mind went straight back to my work. Yes, my teammates thought I was a nerd, but the amount of work I did before, during, and after dance, was the only reason I was able to continue dancing. As a result dance became a motivation for maintaining excellent grades in school. Similarly, in regards to the Falconette Dance Team I was a part of in high school, no member could perform if they had a failing grade. They withheld one dancer from traveling to Orlando, Florida with the squad due to her failing status of one class. Consequently, all the other members, including myself, found this extracurricular activitya huge force affecting our success academically.
My parents, especially my mother, and extracurriculars did influence how well I did in school, but I initially did not believe any outside forces influenced what subjects I liked in school. That is not until I remember back to the image my father kept as the background on his computer screen. It was the drawing by Leonardo da Vinci entitled "The Vitruvian Man" created in 1487. It depicts the ideal human proportion and the intricacy and beauty of the human body. In addition, da Vinci felt that the body's functions and workings represent and mirror the function of the universe. My father explained these concepts to me at a young age and many other Renaissance opinions about the beauty of the human body and the Earth's natural workings. It may be this early exposure as a child that inspired my love of biology and anatomy. Science, specifically biology, has emerged as one of my two majors I have decided to pursue upon entering college.
While it seems only secondary to the work done in the classroom, what happens in a students environment outside of school greatly impacts how they perform. If it was not for the influences like my mothers guidance and analytical nature, my father'slove of the Renaissance, and the desire to stay in my extracurriculars, my drive to succeed in school and my interest in the science of living beings would not nearly be as strong nor would I have reached the high class rank and GPA I graduated with. What occurred outside the classroom deeply influenced what happened within and my academic path would not nearly have been the same without these factors.
Each day after school from kindergarten straight through to senior year, I would settle at the table with my stay-at-home mother, unload my backpack, and review every class of the day. Each afternoon held a recap of each subject, including what I did in class, what grades I received back from the teacher, how I thought my test went, who I sat next to, and lastly what I had for homework. The motto was work first play later. Although this may seem harsh on a child, in retrospect, it instilled priority from an early age. I learned quickly, under the direction of my parents, that school always came first. Therefore, if I wanted to have fun with the other neighborhood kids or go out on the weekends, I would have to power through the worksheets, readings, and essays before I could step foot outside the door. However, not only did the work get done under their watchful eye, but it was done correctly. My mother would always check my answers, point out the ones that were incorrect, and have me try them again, and again, and again. There was no assignment that left the house short of perfection.
As I grew older, however, and the material became more complex and extensive, it was harder for her to monitor my every worksheet and assignment, so she focused her support on something she would soon become an expert at, proofreading essays. She and I would comb through my papers extensively, analyzing every letter, comma, and semicolon. We would analyze how the sentences flowed to make one coherent idea and tear apart any work or clause that stood in the way of my concept. No argument went unproven and no assertion went unsupported. There would be arguments, and in the end I would hold an essay edited and re-edited so many times I was sick of it. However, no grade came back less than an A and I was commended on my superiorly crafted writing, being dubbed one of the top five writers in the grade by the senior AP/Honors English teacher. Furthermore, I came to be known as a person that my classmates wanted to proof read their papers. In the case of my friend Elena, I was a person that could make a college essay 250 words less than its original length, while also making it more succinct and appealing to the reader. While my basis for writing was taught formally by certified teachers, my high-quality editing skills were not taught by any professional, but by my own mother.
As previously mentioned, my parents stressed school above all else, including my hobby since age two, dance. If I wanted to excel in school, as well as continue dancing competitively, I would have to learn to manage both and ensure my success in school at the same time. This often meant doing nothing during the week but studying and dancing, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Four days a week for about eight years, I would spend the half hour car rides to the studio with my nose buried in a text book or answering questions messily in a notebook. When it came time to drive myself to dance, I was clueless on how to arrive there since I had rarely ever seen the road beyond my pile of text books. Furthermore, if there was any spare moment in rehearsal or at a competition when I was not performing or practicing, my mind went straight back to my work. Yes, my teammates thought I was a nerd, but the amount of work I did before, during, and after dance, was the only reason I was able to continue dancing. As a result dance became a motivation for maintaining excellent grades in school. Similarly, in regards to the Falconette Dance Team I was a part of in high school, no member could perform if they had a failing grade. They withheld one dancer from traveling to Orlando, Florida with the squad due to her failing status of one class. Consequently, all the other members, including myself, found this extracurricular activitya huge force affecting our success academically.
My parents, especially my mother, and extracurriculars did influence how well I did in school, but I initially did not believe any outside forces influenced what subjects I liked in school. That is not until I remember back to the image my father kept as the background on his computer screen. It was the drawing by Leonardo da Vinci entitled "The Vitruvian Man" created in 1487. It depicts the ideal human proportion and the intricacy and beauty of the human body. In addition, da Vinci felt that the body's functions and workings represent and mirror the function of the universe. My father explained these concepts to me at a young age and many other Renaissance opinions about the beauty of the human body and the Earth's natural workings. It may be this early exposure as a child that inspired my love of biology and anatomy. Science, specifically biology, has emerged as one of my two majors I have decided to pursue upon entering college.
While it seems only secondary to the work done in the classroom, what happens in a students environment outside of school greatly impacts how they perform. If it was not for the influences like my mothers guidance and analytical nature, my father's love of the Renaissance, and the desire to stay in my extracurriculars, my drive to succeed in school and my interest in the science of living beings would not nearly be as strong nor would I have reached the high class rank and GPA I graduated with. What occurred outside the classroom deeply influenced what happened within and my academic path would not nearly have been the same without these factors.